[495] A not uncommon subject is the meeting of a young horseman with a beautiful lady in a chariot, and it has been suggested that this may be the meeting of Ming Huang and Yang Kuei-fei; but the identification is quite conjectural.
[496] Another game, hsiang ch’i (elephant checkers), is far nearer to our chess.
[497] A group of five old men similarly employed represents the wu lao (the five old ones), the spirits of the five planets.
[498] Chang Kuo Lao, the Taoist Immortal, is also regarded as one of the gods of Literature; see p. [287].
[499] Vajrapani is one of the gods of the Four Quarters of the Heaven, who are guardians of Buddha. They are represented as ferocious looking warriors, sometimes stamping on prostrate demon-figures. As such they occur among the T’ang tomb statuettes, but they are not often represented on the later porcelains.
[500] The Kanzan and Jitoku of Japanese lore.
[501] See Catalogue of the Pierpont Morgan Collection, vol. i., p. [156].
[502] Indeed it is likely that the modern ju-i head derives from the fungus. The ju-i
means “as you wish” or “according (ju) to your idea (i),” and the sceptre, which is made in all manner of materials such as wood, porcelain, lacquer, cloisonné enamel, etc., is a suitable gift for wedding or birthday. Its form is a slightly curved staff about 12 to 15 inches long, with a fungus-shaped head bent over like a hook. On the origin of the ju-i, see Laufer, Jade, p. 335.